Outcast Island (Exiled Sector)

1. Magnus

CHAPTER 1

MAGNUS

Pathetic.

That’s the only way to describe the Vampire Alpha on his knees begging for his life at my feet.

I let him plead even though there’s nothing he can say that’ll change his fate. His doom is as certain as the crunch of dead leaves beneath my boots and the moonlight filtering through the dense island tree cover.

The mild breeze does nothing to temper the molten desire to kill running through my veins.

A fire burns inside my chest, and pain radiates through my jaw. My fangs are longer than usual. They’re like a raging hard-on that won’t go away until I’ve sunk them into warm flesh, ripping and biting until the deed is done.

One death might not even be enough tonight. But that’s okay. I have other tactics to stem my needs.

Beg for your life, I mentally demand. He can’t hear me, but my power as a Vampire Alpha works on the sheer force of my dominance. It extends beyond me in a tangible wave and makes him stiffen as I snarl. I keep going until he bows his head in the submission I require.

I almost feel sorry for the vampire. But drawing out the kill helps my little rage problem.

Yes, I think as a refreshing wave of coolness sparks inside my soul. It only lasts for a moment, but this is how I temper the growing fire that will consume me whole if I ignore it.

I’ve tried to pretend the urge doesn’t exist. I let it grow too large before, and I nearly paid the price.

That’s why I am on Outcast Island. No one marked me for exile.

I did it to myself.

And because of my choice of exile, I know my victim deserves this humiliation before he dies.

Only the worst of the worst end up on Outcast Island. Meaning this vampire is a ruthless killer.

Perhaps I am, too, but there’s one thing I don’t share in common with the assholes who are exiled to this blood-forsaken place.

I protect the innocent.

Even if that means protecting them from me.

“You can have my rations!” he says, as if I care for the cold blood that Alpha Fare will give this worthless piece of shit. Sure, it might be Vampire Omega blood that’ll better sustain me, but I have my own means of procuring blood when I need it.

Only, leaving the island requires that my rage levels be at their lowest for me to safely venture out. My urges seem to climb to new heights every day, requiring more and more blood and violence until I feel like myself again.

Hence my little playtime with this asshole here.

“Why would I want your rations?” I ask as I slowly crouch. My leather boots creak as I settle and crunch more of the dead leaves beneath my heel. I grip his hair and yank his head up so I can see his face. His black eyes stare back at me with panic and a little bit of insanity that comes with a vampire who has gone without blood for too long.

He doesn’t try to run. He knows who I am and why I’ve targeted him. Alpha Fare might run this island, but we have an unspoken agreement. If any of his men disappoint him, or challenge him, they are marked.

This time not for exile, but for me .

The mark is easy to point out. If a vampire has Alpha Fare’s blood on him, he’s fair game.

I could scent the stench on this vampire a mile away.

Another reason he doesn’t run is that he knows the predator in me will take over if he does. I’ll rip his spine from his body and gnaw on it like an appetizer before he’s taken three steps.

And he wouldn’t get very far in his current state anyway.

He’s hungry. So am I, but that seems to make my magic stronger with its need to dominate and bend everyone and everything around me to my will.

It’s not just domination I need.

It’s their pain and a need to make them bleed.

Tilting my head, my dark hair falls across my face. I don’t bother pushing it away as I peer at him through the parted strands. Rage burns inside of me, demanding an outlet and making my jaw throb in pain. My chest rumbles with a growl I can’t keep in. “Why settle for rations when I can just feed on you?”

His eyes widen as if he hadn’t expected that. Did the idiot forget how my rage worked?

I need to drink blood. A lot of it. It doesn’t matter what kind of blood it is or if my body will reject it.

The rage inside of me demands that rivers run red, and there are plenty of those on Outcast Island that will never be blue again.

My fingers wrap around his throat, stifling whatever sound he’s about to make.

Then a rock strikes me in the head, sending a sharp pain radiating through my temple as blood rolls down my cheek. I swat away a few more flying stones.

Huh, a telekinetic.

That’s a powerful ability, one that likely means this is a royal bastard from one of the more powerful nests, but this Vampire Alpha is far too starved to do more than ping me with a couple of rocks.

Let’s see how many rocks you can throw at me when you bleed, I think.

My fangs graze his cheek, splitting his skin open to form a few droplets of his dark blood, when a ball of fire streaks across the sky. It hurts my sensitive eyes to look up at it, but the sight is so unusual that I fixate on the object, watching it as it heads toward the emptiness of the sea.

No, that’s not a fireball, I realize when I spot the flashing lights.

That’s an escape pod.

The vampire in my grip looks up the moment I do and makes a guttural sound. It’s odd enough to draw my attention away from the fireball, and I find that a flicker of victory ignites in his eyes.

I don’t have time to see why a crashing escape pod interests him. He’s about to die.

A feral grin overtakes his face. I loosen my grip just enough so he can speak, because now I’m curious.

“If I die, I’m taking you with me,” he says with a hiss, then he bites off his own tongue.

I’m stunned as he chokes on his own blood.

What kind of insanity is Alpha Fare dealing out these days?

Then a shock wave of telekinetic power fueled by blood knocks me off my feet, but the Vampire Alpha’s power wasn’t aimed at me.

It was directed at the escape pod.

The airborne vehicle violently jerks in an unnatural pattern as the vampire snaps out a hand and seems to hold on to it.

My eyes widen as it veers toward us.

He’s trying to crash it right on top of us.

With a roar, I pounce on the vampire and twist his neck, and the snap of his spine cracks through the forest.

When I look up, I see the pod jerk again in another direction before it descends into the tree line, sending a plume of spoke into the air.

I wipe my fingers over the vampire’s mouth and draw his blood into mine. My vision turns red in response as my stomach twists with the wrongness of imbibing another Vampire Alpha’s blood.

But I know I have to keep it together. Those marked for exile didn’t crash on this island. They were brought in on a regular schedule. Alpha Fare had initiated a new batch of vampires just last week.

Meaning that whoever is in that escape pod is an innocent.

And thanks to me, they are hurt or worse. I might not have sent the escape pod off course, but had I not been toying with the vampire, he wouldn’t have even attempted to redirect it. I doubt his telekinesis power had been that strong, at least not without something to boost it.

Like him biting off his own tongue.

This is my fault.

Meaning I need to fix it.

I need to get to whoever is in that escape pod. Bloodmisting is a possibility, but that will require reserves that I am low on. One Vampire Alpha isn’t enough to keep me sane if I use up what little blood I have left.

Stay, I command the survivor as I break into a run. Tracking them down will take more time, so it’s best they stay where they are until I arrive.

Assuming whoever just crashed is still alive.

Please be alive, I hope, not needing more innocent blood on my hands.

Ancient trees crack against me, snapping and bowing as I storm through them toward the crash site.

I’m not the only one. The sickly scent of at least four other Vampire Alphas are tracking the same target.

A pack.

Vampires don’t always form packs, but it can happen.

And four Vampire Alphas are going to be a challenge to handle, especially because they’re heading for the same target I am.

Whoever is in that escape pod is fresh blood.

And thanks to me, they have crashed on this island.

A crack sounds through the forest as the escape pod pops open. I’m nowhere near it, but my hearing can pick up sounds from miles away.

My sense of smell is even more powerful, and when I inhale and catch the scent of the newcomer, I fall to my knees.

Dirt explodes all around me as I crash to the ground, and my breath catches in my chest. Pain jerks through me as the fires inside of me roar to life.

What the hell?

I flash my gaze through the tree line, unable to see anything except the blur of a Vampire Alpha reacting similarly to me. He’s stunned, but he’ll recover in a moment.

Because the newcomer isn’t just an innocent.

She’s a Vampire Omega.

And she’s about to go into heat.